Sriracha chili sauce is produced at the Huy Fong Foods factory in Irwindale, Calif., in October. / Nick Ut, AP

by Alistair Barr, USA TODAY

by Alistair Barr, USA TODAY

Huy Fong Foods, maker of the popular Sriracha spicy sauce, was ordered to stop operations that cause strong smells that have irritated people in its neighborhood.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert O'Brien ruled Tuesday that the plant must cease any operations that cause the noxious fumes and make quick changes to make sure that smells from production of the sauce are limited in the future.

Irwindale city residents, east of Los Angeles, sued Huy Fong in October alleging the company refused to do enough to stop the fumes, which they said were strong enough to irritate eyes and throats.

Judge O'Brien denied a request that all operations be shut down. Instead, his order is an interim measure while the court considers the lawsuit from residents.

"Neither the city, nor the judge, was specific in terms of what has to be done to cease the odors and left how that goal is achieved up to the defendant," Irwindale attorney Stephen Onstot told Reuters.

A representative at Huy Fong Foods declined to comment Wednesday. The company was founded 33 years ago by David Tran, an ethnic Chinese immigrant from Vietnam. Its red Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, with the trademark rooster logo, has become one of the top-selling condiments in the U.S.